In the race for Multnomah County chair, there is but one over-sized,
blood-moon personality, and that -- for better or worse -- is Jim
Francesconi. When it comes to political ambition and seeking credit, he
is as overbearing as Deborah Kafoury is ambivalent. His intensity is
occasionally disarming, far less often persuasive.

From a seat high atop Multnomah County, Francesconi wants to "lead the statewide effort to raise the minimum wage." He wants to create jobs, especially union jobs, and establish the county as the "international capital of sustainable energy."

The
long-time Catholic activist has discovered that poverty in the county
has almost doubled since he left the Portland City Council, and
Francesconi would have you believe that he alone is prepared to
fight for the homeless, the jobless, the mentally ill and the
disadvantaged.

The social-service safety net has long been the
county's priority and mission, mind you. The question remains: If this
is what Francesconi cares about, where has he been since Tom Potter
leveled him with $25 contributions in the 2004 mayor's race?

But for the political opening provided by the Jeff Cogen implosion, would Francesconi be back championing the neediest among us?

Francesconi
is the first to admit he wanted to be mayor in the worst way, and
campaigned accordingly with Portland's business community: "I
inflicted a lot of the damage myself." He took losing hard, then took
several giant strides away from politics.

"I carved out a life
behind the scenes," Francesconi says. He was appointed to the Higher Ed
board, consulted with Portland Community College, and billed a lot of
hours with the law firm, Haglund Kelley. He invested time, he says, in the Community Benefits Agreement.

"And," Francesconi adds, "I've been enjoying my privacy."

But
just when you thought Francesconi has concluded he might be far more
productive outside the halls of power than he ever was inside them, he
is back wooing the voters.

The need for redemption, he insists, doesn't fully explain it. "I guess at some
psychological level that may play a role," Francesconi says, "but it's not the main reason. I'm not naive anymore:
I know what can happen during a campaign. I know what can happen to my
family. So, that's not sufficient motivation, just trying to redeem myself."

What then? "I'm
older. I know I'm running out of time. What I'm really trying to do is
connect to the best part of me. The public has gotten cynical about
government, but I haven't."

That explains, then, a bold-faced
quote in Francesconi's jobs plan: "If you believe in it, you fund it."
It's hard to position yourself on the political left of any Kafoury,
but that quote may do the trick.

Give the guy credit: He is no
longer afraid to turn his ferocious laugh on himself. When I asked
Francesconi what to make of the fact that he has not been endorsed by
any of the city and county commissioners who served with him between
1996 and 2004, that laugh echoed the length of Second Avenue: "I had all
those endorsements when I ran for mayor. What good did it do me?"

He is content now with the endorsement of the public employee unions,
even if that means criticizing Kafoury's work as county commissioner on
the new Sellwood Bridge -- a sterling accomplishment, I'd argue --
because a non-union contract is involved.

To win the race for
county chair -- "I'm never running for anything ever again," he promises
-- Francesconi needs more than union loyalists. He must convince those
drifting toward poverty line and safety net that his approach,
his personality, his bravado are more useful than Kafoury's on-the-job
county experience.

Mike Houck, director of the Urban Greenspaces Institute,
frames the issue well. Houck is a fan of Francesconi's work as parks
commissioner, especially on the 2002 parks levy. He admires his commitment. "I've known a lot of people who came up in the Jesuit social
justice movement," Houck says. "Jim seems to be in that mode. I don't
have any basis for questioning his sincerity.

"Whether he's the right person to do that for the county is another question."